The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method for controlling an attraction and, more particularly, to a system and method for controlling motion of a vehicle or a show event in an attraction course.
Theme park or amusement park ride attractions have become increasingly popular. Amusement park rides often include traveling rides, which include ride vehicles that travel along a path (e.g., a railway or a track), fixed rides, which may include a motion base, or combinations thereof. The path of a traveling ride may be situated in different surroundings (e.g., on a mountain top, in a tunnel, under the water). Along the path, there may be different types of show events, such as moving action figures (e.g., animatronics), video screen projections, sound effects, water effects, and so forth. In fixed rides, a movable passenger platform having multiple degrees of freedom is typically situated on a relatively still base. The passenger platform can move in several different directions including angular movements, such as roll, pitch and yaw, and linear movements, such as heave and surge. The passenger platform is also frequently positioned adjacent one or more projection screens showing a series of images or a motion picture. For added realism and effect, the movement of the passenger platform can be synchronized with the projected images or motion picture.
Controlling and monitoring of amusement park rides are generally carried out using a central controller or computer. For example, the central controller may monitor each ride vehicle's position on an associated path and when vehicle spacing is within a predetermined minimum distance, all ride vehicles on the path may be stopped. The central controller may also trigger show events, such as video screen projections, based on ride vehicle positioning. Such control systems often include multiple sensors mounted at various locations along the path with complex wiring for connecting each sensor to the central controller. It is now recognized that such traditional control systems can be costly to maintain and difficult to integrate.